A Wished Away Champion
by Goddess Natasha
Summary: This is a continuation of the movie Labyrinth. Karen has wished away Sarah to the Goblin King. The fate of the underground is held inside Sara, what will come of it if certain events do not unfold EXACTLY the way they must for it's survival? 4-1-13: UPDATES will be coming weekly! Anyone who leaves a review will have their name put into a drawing to be added as a final character!
1. The begining of the middle

I do not own anything from this story…. So don't sue me.  
This is my first piece of fanfiction…..so if it sucks don't sue me….. Please review and let me know what you liked and didn't like so I may improve my writing.  
And of course if you stub your toe…..don't sue me it wasn't my fault. ;)

-1-

Sarah had just ate the peach, and as the crystals moved in front of her vision she felt them and remembered them as if they had actually been happening to her as if they were happening at that very moment. One crystal shown her and the Goblin king riding horses along a sandy beach at sunset laughing at jokes they shared and sighing at tender childhood stories. Another shown them strolling hand in hand through a garden full of beautiful flowers. They stopped as he plucked a flower from it's stem and placed it in her hair. Letting his fingers linger on her hair and trail down her cheek. She rewarded him with a slight kiss on his cheek. Another crystal shown them in a room in front of a fire. They were held in a lovers embrace while wrapped in a large blanket on a plush couch. The last crystal was the most real of all. In this crystal she was walking through a room full of dancing people looking for the one who had captured her heart…

Although she now knew that the images inside those crystal were in fact only figments of her imagination devised by the Goblin King to distract her. She still felt them in her heart as if they had truly happened, and she felt the loss greatly. She knew that she had feelings for the Goblin King but nothing had prepared her for the sadness she felt remembering his heart felt words, his smoldering looks, and his heated touch. Still she had said the fated words and she had been returned back into the real world along with her little brother. The party last night had been pretty wild but for some reason no one else in the house had heard it. She loved having that last moment to wrap up her loose ends with her friends and give them all a sense of closure at the whole adventure. Today she sat in front of her mirror. She had begun to take her mementos of her mother and other fantasies off of it last night, but she sat there realizing that they were a special part of her and she began to replace them again. Yes she had gained more than a newfound devotion to her little brother in only one day. She had matured, and had known friendships greater than any she had ever formed with another human, and she had felt a greater love than she was sure could exist on the mortal plane. But with all those great things she also had felt a great loss with the completion of it all. This experience had aged her beyond her young years. She was wiser now, and she was more grateful for all that she had.

Toby was her new favorite person, instead of going to the parks alone she took him with her. It was odd that she would see a white snow owl perched in the tree by the bridge, but she shook it off as it was probably where his nest was. They were right when they said that owls were wise. She had heard a poem once about that. Something about living in an oak, the more he saw the less he spoke. the less he spoke the more he heard, that old owl was a wise old bird. Which explained why this owl always watched them without ever making a sound. A few times she even swore she seen it out her window. But it must have been another one right?

Jareth was furious that Sarah had rejected his offer to stay and be with him forever. He knew the moment he had laid eyes on her in the mortal world that she was special. He had left that book in an area where she would read it and hopefully say the words he knew would bring them together. He had seen the way her step mother treated her. The nasty looks she would give Sarah when she played in her fantasy world. He knew Karen adored Toby and hated Sarah's existence. He had hoped that Sarah would wish herself away and then she would be his forever. But things didn't play out exactly to his plans and she was back again in the mortal world. But there was something else that had come about with Sarah's new found love for her brother. A new hatred for Sarah had formed from her jealous step mother. Jareth had sensed this the first morning when he checked on Sarah to make sure she had gotten enough sleep after the wild party the night before.

Sarah had already had Toby in his high chair and was feeding him a mushy breakfast when Karen had come in to the kitchen"Sarah why are you up so early. You are never up before noon. And why are you feeding Toby?" she asked. Suspicious at her step daughter taking a new and sudden interest in the infant. She watched as Sarah wiped the goo from Toby's chin and responded. "I just thought that he and I could spend a little more time together is all" she said with a genuine smile. Karen's eyes narrowed at the girl. Something had changed in her. She still looked the same but somehow her eyes were a brighter green, her lips had a strange happy smile she had never seen Sarah use. And her hair even had a bit more bounce to it. Yes something was not the same with this girl. And it made Karen furious. Karen loved berating the girl when she was in one of her moods. It was an easy thing to do since Sarah acted like a selfish brat most of the time and Karen could pull her authority over the girl making her life a living hell legitly. Her husband didn't see anything wrong with Karen's attention. He seen his emotional selfish daughter be disciplined correctly by her new mother. To him things were as they should be.

He knew Karen wanted another child and she kept asking him to send Sarah off to her mother so they could be happy with their own family again. She argued that Sarah was all grown up but Karen had to spend all her time mothering her as if she was still a small child. If Sarah were gone then she could actually mother her own new small child who she said truly would need her unlike that brat Sarah. But he argued that Sarah would better off with them and get the love and discipline she truly needed instead of being encouraged further into the fantasy world her mother loved so much.

Three weeks went by in which Sarah grew more beautiful and happier. She truly was changing. Karen didn't fail to notice this. And it only fueled her hatred towards the girl. Sarah had been stealing Toby away from the house more and more. And lately her own son was wanting the attentions of his sister over the ones from his mother. With Sara being the perfect daughter Karen didn't even get to yell at her or punish her anymore. The anger she felt for Sarah was building up with no escape. Jareth could see this anger pulsing off of Karen in red waves, this unsettled him. He didn't want any harm to come to Sarah because of him. Soon Karen would snap from the pressure building up and it wouldn't be good for the girl it was directed towards. Un be known to him this was the day that would begin all the events that would cause Karen to cause the world to come crashing down for Sarah.

She had been sick in the middle of the night. Throwing up off and on since before dawn. Karen had heard Sarah throwing up and went to give her a puke bucket. Telling her that if she missed the bucket that she would be the one to clean up her own mess. Karen hated even being near Sarah when she was sick so Sarah had adapted over the years and knew how to take care of herself. But it was now about three in the afternoon and Sarah was still throwing up. She didn't come to dinner and Karen was fine with that. "Dear where is Sarah at" her dad had asked when they all sat down to dinner. " She has the flu or something and she is stuck in her bed. Honestly I think she is just faking it so she doesn't have to eat this dinner I made. I know that Meat loaf isn't her favorite food but she doesn't have to fake an illness to get out of eating it." Karen replied while trying to force a smile from her words. She loved putting those little hints in that Sara was still a spoiled brat and she was the poor step mother who had to deal with such an insolent little child. "Well then let her stay in her room with no dinner" he said. Karen smiled knowing that she had won but it did nothing to the anger that was still building up towards Sarah.

Three days passed and Sarah was still very sick. She was having stomach pains and she was barely able to keep enough food down to keep her energy up. She knew that her father was away on one of his trips and that Karen wouldn't take her to the doctor so she gathered up what strength she had left and took the bus to the downtown clinic. Jareth had been watching Sarah through her window for the past few days. She was so sick that she had visibly lost a lot of weight. Her skin was an ashy gray and she was constantly in pain. He worried about her, but being stuck in his animal form he could do nothing to help her. While he was in the mortal realm the only way he could transform was when he was stuck doing Goblin King official duties. He had never felt this helpless than when he watched Sarah suffer.

He felt as if something were wrong with her and it was all his fault. Although he didn't know how that could even be. Mortals couldn't get sicknesses from the underground. The magic there prevented any real harm befalling them as they ran the labyrinth. He seen Sarah stagger out her house and onto a city bus down her street. He followed the bus till it stopped at another bus stop in town. She then walked a few streets over to a small building. He was glad she had gotten there when she did because he seen the toll the short walk had put on her diminished strength. He couldn't go into the building so he just waited till she left a few hours later. She looked even worse for the wear. There was a bandage on her arm and her gray pallor looked almost green. She took the bus back to her street where she began her walk home. Just before she reached her house she collapsed. Jareth who didn't know how to help her began beating frantically on her front door hoping someone was home to help her. Unfortunately Karen was the one who opened the door just as Jareth flew away from it and out of sight. She looked around wondering who had been knocking on the door when she seen Sarah on the grass. She was half tempted to leave her there but she knew there would be questions later from the neighbors so she just lifted up the girls arms and dragged her into the house and left her on the living room rug.

Jareth was appalled at the way Sarah had been dragged into her home. Didn't the evil woman care about her at all? In the house he could hear Karen ask Sarah where she went but the only answer Sarah could get out was clinic. Karen called the clinic worried that Sarah may be carrying a disease that could infect the whole family, only to be placed on hold while the receptionist went to get the doctor. Apparently one of the tests they had taken that day was returned as a Urgent follow up. The doctor came on to the phone. Although being Fae gave Jareth super hearing he could still only hear Karen's side of the conversation though the walls of the house. "WHAT" screamed Karen "I can't believe it" she said again. "Are you sure" she wailed again. "Oh I can't have this," she said "she will just have to go" and she hung up the phone. Jareth was worried. What sickness could Sarah have that would force Karen to want to get rid of her?

Karen walked over to Sarah's still form on the rug. Giving her a little kick to wake her up she smiled when it didn't work and she kicked her again. This time a lot more harder. "Ow" said Sarah weakly opening her eyes. "Well you little brat" spat Karen "I called that doctor and he said that you are pregnant." Sara's eyes widened as if this was just as a shock to her as it had been to Karen. Jareth outside was completely frozen to the spot. There would be a baby. His baby. "Well there is more" said Karen "apparently you aren't even be a good mother because your body is rejecting the little bastard, you have preeclampsia. And if you want to live especially under this roof you will have an abortion." Karen was completely out of patience. She was now thriving off the built up hate and anger she felt for Sara. "But" said Sarah "I haven't ever…." She didn't finish her sentence as a vision of a glowing fire and a loving Goblin King under a cozy blanket filled her mind. That scene had felt so real that she didn't realize it HAD been real. Jareth and she had made love just as her fantasy had shown her. "Well you little slut I will not stand for you to stay here any longer I want you out of this house right this instant." Karen said as she roughly pulled Sarah up to her feet. "Don't even worry about your things since I will be setting them to the trash tonight. You can get them then" she said as she pushed Sarah to the front door. The next words Sarah barely heard as she began to lose consciousness. "I wish someone would take you away from me right now, so I never have to see your ugly face again." The fluttering of wings were the last things Sarah heard as everything around her went black.


	2. A Champion Lost

As usual I don't own any of this, so don't sue me…

Short rant so don't sue me…..I know that Sarah is young as the movie description says she is fifteen, but If I am right IN THE MOVIE they never did say how old she is only that she was a ordinary girl and that part about a girl at your age should have friends... So if you had never read that movie description you would not truly know how old she is. To me she looks eighteen/nineteen which is (unfortunately) an age where girls are having children. You can keep her in your mind at whatever age she is to you. I just wanted to clarify that to me she is a bit older than some portray her to be.

If you happen to hit your funny bone and it hurts really bad… it's not my fault so….. You got it. Don't sue me. :D

-2-

Jareth heard the words Karen had said and since he was obligated to fulfill them he fluttered to the open front door and went in causing it to slam shut behind him. Rapidly fluttering his wings causing glitter to float up into the air as he magnificently transformed into his human self. The fear on Karen's face was not enough to satisfy Jareth's anger towards the spiteful woman. Her treatment of his Sarah was abominable. Sarah was already gone as the wishing away process had begun. Now he had to do something that he was loathed to do, but since it was part of the "rules" he began his "what's done is done" speech. He was pretty sure that Karen wouldn't fight to get Sarah back as some did after foolishly wishing away a truly loved child. Karen was completely spell bound with Jareth's performance. But the look on her face was no longer fear, not even a trace of sadness for what she had just done. Instead Karen was pouring out her lust for the Goblin King through every pour of her body, and her face was giving him a feral look of wanting.

This shocked him even more than her treatment of Sarah. This was a married woman who obviously had no issues with fidelity. He continued with the speech till the part he had to choke out. "I will grant you any wish your hearts desire…. All you have to do is forget about the girl." Please his heart whispered. Please forget about her AND ME! He was so sure that she would ask him to fulfill her every sexual fantasy, but she shocked him yet again. "When that slut was able to have a child before me I couldn't stand it. She doesn't deserve to be a mother." A wicked gleam came into her eyes. "I want her baby." Karen said. She finally had Sarah out of the way, now she could have another baby. She had tried in the past to trick her husband into having another baby, but even off her birth control pills she couldn't conceive. Her doctor had said that she would probably never have another child since she had complications with Toby's birth that could have left scarring. This would be the ultimate revenge on that girl. She would keep the child and raise it as her own. Maybe she would even love it over time. Not like Sarah. She never loved that brat no matter how much she had tried. Jareth was struck speechless. He couldn't give her his child, the heir to his throne, and his miracle that he had made with his one true love. But the magic was set in motion and couldn't be stopped. The wish had been made and he had to accept it.

"When the child is born you will be given it" he replied in a sullen voice. "I can't go through this whole year without showing a baby bump and then just show up with a baby!" Karen screeched "I want the baby now!" Jareth was losing what thin thread of patience he still had with this woman. "You will appear to have the child in you, you will all be able to feel it, and you will see it with your machines. But the child will not truly be there. It will be a mirror image of the baby in Sarah. When you are ready to give birth, you will." Karen smiled, that was obviously good enough for her. Jareth turned and left the overjoyed woman with this last phrase "What Sarah feels you will feel, and that means EVERYTHING" Karen realized that the girl was sick with a disease that rejected the baby, so that means she would too. "But if something happens to the baby then what about my wish…." She wailed.

Jareth hoped that he would be able to find a loop hole in the short amount of time till the baby's birth. No matter what he was not giving HIS child to that evil woman. As he entered his realm once more he felt a sense of loss. People were always wishing away children of all ages. And he always felt a touch of sadness at their neglect. But Sarah was different. She was truly wanted. Wanted by him. And this child would be too. There was no way he was going to lose his child. He would be a great parent. But already the child was gone before it was even born. The sense of loss was beginning to overwhelm him. He never felt a strong emotion like this before over other children. Entering his castle he went to the waiting room the children who were wished away went to. This is where his Sarah would be and he could explain what was happening. Jareth had a few tricks up his sleeve concerning Karen. He was excited to tell them to Sarah. But when he walked into the room Sarah was no where to be seen. This was very odd since the room was magicked to keep it's occupants in it no matter what till he released them. Still Sarah had somehow gotten out of it. The feeling of loss was rampantly coursing through his body. "Maybe because she was the champion she wouldn't be sent here or maybe she is allowed to come and go as she pleases." he thought. Labyrinth never had a previous champion but he knew that it came with certain rules and rewards. Such as the champion couldn't run the labyrinth ever again even if they wished away another child. It was considered cheating. In the event that they did wish another child away they would have to appoint another person to run it. There was a catch; if that person lost to the labyrinth or gave up then both that other person and the child would be turned into goblins. A reward for beating the Labyrinth was that the champion would stay as a human but be granted immortality. This rule kept her from ever being turned into a goblin. She could still die in the same ways that the Fae could. And childbirth was one of them.

The panic in Jareth began to spread. He had to find Sarah and hold her in his arms. She may still be angry at him from their last meeting, but he didn't care. He only cared about her well being and safety. He summoned a crystal commanding it to show him Sarah. The image was hazy but it shown her still unconscious. He gazed around her, but he couldn't see much of anything. Wherever she was it was not very familiar to him as any place in his castle would be. Throwing the crystal on the ground he commanded it to lead him to her. But it only stayed in place on the cold stone. Again commanding the crystal with all his magick to take him to Sarah, he was amazed to see the crystal stay where it was. He gave it a small kick to try to help it start moving, but the crystal was like a heavy boulder that refused to budge. Frustrated that he just stubbed his toes and that the crystal wouldn't move he realized Sarah was not in his kingdom. The crystal would have taken him anywhere in the underground that he ruled. There for she lost somewhere in the Underground. Summoning another crystal he called to the wise man. The wise man had always been the confidant of his kingdom. He was after all called the WISE man, so hopefully he could shed some light on this strange situation.

"Thank you for coming so fast" he began, irritated that it had actually taken the wise man over an hour to arrive. "Yes whell we kept stopping for naps" the bird said angrily on the man's head "what oh yes" the wise man woke up with a snort "glad to be of service my king, we will be going now" as he began to turn away to leave Jareth apparated in front of him stopping him in his place. "You haven't even helped me yet" Jareth growled "Sarah the Labyrinth's champion was wished away today and yet she isn't here in my kingdom. Where could she be" he almost pleaded. "The one you seek is in your heart" the wise man replied. "Yes she is in my heart. I love her you idiot now I need to know where she is at so I can go get her." "Yeh get what yeh get with this geezer" the bird announced as the wise man began snoring again. "He better give me something better" said Jareth "or I will be having pheasant for dinner" The bird understood that his neck was on the line here (literally) so he yelled loudly at the sleeping man. "WAAAAK wake up you stupeed fool I'm too pretty to be eaten" "what oh yes" the old man began again "the young lady you seek can only be found with the heart she is in" he turned and shuffled away. Jareth realizing that he was getting nowhere with this interrogation decided to choose another solution.

Jareth had never done it before but he decided it must be done. He called an emergency session of the rulers of the Realms. With the crystal held tightly in his palms he poured his magick into it then he threw it into the air. Instead of falling to the ground crashing into a million shards it evaporated and sent a shower of glitter over its ruler. When the glitter cleared he was sitting in his usually vacant seat at the high councils table. "I have called this meeting today to gain some insight about a predicament I have found myself in." Jareth announced calling the meeting to order. "Our Labyrinth was recently bested by a mortal girl who was recently wished away. She is now missing and I need help finding her" the other faces at the table shifted uncomfortably. "Well as I understand it she was with child" the King of the Elves began "And that her body was rejecting the unborn child. So technically there were two unwanted children being wished away" he said. Jareth had never thought of that. "The baby was given away as a gift" the Queen added for her King. Jareth could feel the anger rise in him; he would never just give his child away as a gift. But he needed their help finding Sarah so he kept his mouth shut.

The dictator who had taken over the trolls stepped up next "When the girl was wished away she was not specifically given to you" he said. "The words must be said EXACTLY the right way or you cannot take the child." Jareth paled at the thought that Sarah could be anywhere and in danger. "Yes" came a voice that chilled Jareth further. "I stepped in and graciously took the unwanted girl" said the ruler of the Djinn. Jareth felt all the hope drain from his body. If Sarah was with Rourick then he doubted he would ever see her again. Djinn were genies that were known for their evil trickery. And this one held a grudge against Jareth for reasons he didn't even know. "Yes but it was my magick that pulled me to the wisher, I granted her wish in exchange for the girl. So therefore she is mine" Jareth said with all the authority he could muster. He hoped the council would side with him and force the Djinn to return Sarah. "As per the rules of the wish; since she was wished away to no one in particular and two stepped in, then the one who contests the ownership of the girl will have to run the Labyrinth to win her back." The high king proclaimed to the whole table. "The owner of the girl will control the labyrinth to ensure that it is a fair race. "If the runner fails to complete the Labyrinth they will be the one that is transformed into the goblin. In the chance they complete it, the loser will be the one turned into a goblin." All at the table shifted excitedly. One of them would be turned into a goblin all over this mortal girl. But the High King was not done. "That is unless the current owner does not wish to compete for the girl; he can simply give the girl over with no complications." Rourick signaled that was not his intention. He was keeping Sarah at any and all cost. For Jareth there had never been any doubt in his mind that he would run the Labyrinth for her. Even at the risk of turning himself into a goblin if he failed.

In the mortal world Karen was overjoyed at the barely noticeable bump that had formed. She called her husband pleading for him to come home. Robert had rushed home to find a distraught Karen. She told him how Sara had collapsed on the front lawn and how she tried to take Sarah to the hospital. Only Sarah had yelled at her saying that SHE was pregnant and was going to live happily ever after with the baby's daddy. Karen turned her tear filled eyes to her husband "And the worst part is Sarah had to ruin even this special moment for us, Robert I am also with child." Robert was happy that they were going to be parents again, but he was too worried about his daughter. Something just didn't feel right.


	3. Lost & Found and Lost Again

I wished I owned Labyrinth so I could make millions of bucks from it, but I don't so don't sue me for any of this…

And as for the last chapter I was so excited to get it posted that I rushed through the editing process I have (I kind of skipped it altogether) So I plan on going back and fixing that today, that is why this is going to be a "short" chapter…. So don't sue me for the bad writing and the short chapter.

In general I tend to write long chapters, it's not my fault really it's the story's fault! It wants to get out of my head (I think the other voices scare it) ….. so don't sue me if your eyes get tired…..

If you happen to bite your tongue….. it's not my fault soooo yup don't sue me!

-3-

"I want to see Sarah to make sure she is ok. I need to know that she is being taken care of." Jareth told the Djinn. Rourick nodded and allowed the translucent smoke holding him up to envelope Jareths' form and pull them away. As the smoke cleared he could see Sarah on a stone floor. She was still unconscious. He bent down to lift her head and cradle it in his arms. Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead he noticed that her eyes began to flutter open. "What are you doing here" she asked with fear and anger in her voice. The man who had haunted her dreams for the past month was now holding her as if she was his most precious possession. But she also remembered that he was the reason that her brother Toby would probably be scarred for life. (The little boy kept a death grip on her goblin doll, and his first real word aside from mama and dada was magick pronounced maa-ick. But Sarah knew what it had meant) Now to top it off she was wished away from her home at a time that she needed the love and support of her family the most….. all because of him! "I'm here to rescue you" he said sincerely.

"Rescue me that's what you call having me wished away?" she cried. Even with her diminished strength she still had fire in her eyes. "Sarah I have to run the Labyrinth to get you back. You were stolen from me before I could get you to my castle. Trust me when I say that I will do everything in my power to get you both back." Jareth promised her with such determination that she could only nod her head in understanding. Something had changed between them since they last met. No longer was the threat of her losing her precious brother. Now it was a budding love that was threatened to be lost. With that realization she felt the overwhelming need to be near him forever. "Well that is touching and all, but your time is up." Rourick said as he snapped his fingers leaving only him and Sarah in the dark dungeon room. "NOOOOO" she screamed, at the same time in his castle the Goblin King joined her in unison. "Please let me go, I am nothing to you" she cried. The tears streaming down her face did nothing to sway his emotions. They only fueled the pleasure he was receiving knowing that now he would have his true revenge against Jareth. They truly did love each other.

"My dear you will be a so called guest in my kingdom. This will be your quarters, and you will be fed three times each day in mine. You will watch with me as your beloved fails the Labyrinth and is turned into one of his stupid sniveling goblins he hates so much!" Rourick laughed with great delight. "Who are you and why are you doing this to us" she asked. "I'm Rourick the king of the Djinn Genies and I lost the love of my life to the Goblin King hundreds of years ago." Sarah was shocked to hear that bit of news. Her strength was slowly giving away and she laid back down on the cold floor to fall into a dark and dreamless void that she feared was her heart.

"Rourick I am ready to get this over with" Jareth yelled into a crystal letting it shape shift into the Djinn. "You will control the Labyrinth only as much as I was allowed to do. It will change on its own to keep me from the center, so all you can do is add road blocks of your own creation." Rourick was content with this, so he only nodded his head giving permission for the Goblin King to continue "In allotted my thirteen hours I guarantee that I will beat the Labyrinth and get my Sarah back. After I do you will pay for this treachery!" Rourick seemed oddly amused at this little outburst. The usually calm and over regal Goblin King was coming apart at the seams. This would be easier than he had thought. "Let it begin" was all Rourick said as He and Jareth were transported to the beginning of the Labyrinth. Jareth knew all the little secrets that Labyrinth liked to doll out on the runners so he knew that none of them would be available to him. In fact it appeared that the Labyrinth was a completely different maze, as he gazed at the entrance which was usually a stone wall with a large gate. Now it was a single plain door with no walls on either side to support it. As Jareth tried to walk around the door he was blocked. The labyrinth had become invisible so it was obviously adjusting to Jareth's superior intelligence. He opened the door to find it was indeed completely see through. "Well" he thought "This will be simple enough with one of my crystals to lead me through." He held his hand out to conjure the crystal. Nothing happened. He tried again this time trying to pull all his magick out and into the crystal that never appeared. "Jareth you should know that the Labyrinth forbids you to use your magick to get through it. Just try to act like your little human and use your wits and pure dumb luck." Rourick smiled as he vanished. Jareth would never get through this. Deep in his core Rourick felt that he had already won.

Back in the mortal world things were as crazy as ever. Robert feeling it was his fatherly duty to make sure his daughter was ok called the police to report her missing. Since she was obviously very sick as the doctor had told the officer, they were able to rush the missing person's timeline. The officer had pointed out things to Robert who was now getting more and more worried over his little girl. "Sir you say that nothing appears to have been removed" the officer asked again. "Yes it looks like it always has. Even her clothes are still in their places." Roberts voice caught in his throat as he seen the ring Sarah always wore. It was given to her by her mother. Little did he know that she had given it away to pay the Wiseman in the underground, which he later returned at the party. "She would never leave this behind" he began to sob as he held up the precious ring. Karen who had been watching the whole thing for awhile now finally lost her patience. "Oh Robert come on, do you think she really cares about any of this stuff now that she has a new life of her own. For all we know this baby daddy is some rich hunk of a man who will provide her with whatever her little selfish heart desires." The officer raised an eyebrow at the woman but kept his mouth shut. She was obviously an emotional pregnant woman who was trying to deal with the sudden loss of her beloved step daughter….or so she was trying to get everyone to believe. Time would tell which it was. He gathered all the info he had needed and with Sarah's recent picture he left to go post it on the local missing person ads and see if anything came up. In a few days time they would know something…. Either good or bad. Karen ran to the bathroom for the fifth time to throw up. Robert gave a huge sigh and went to help her, pregnancy was certainly not agreeing with her this time around.


	4. Hide and Seek from the Truth

Well as you already know I don't own Labyrinth…. So don't sue me

Lol I just had a typo so instead of writing "sue" my dyslexia set in and I wrote use…. So if that happens again…..don't use me! ;)

If by some chance you lose your cute cuddly puppy…. I didn't steal it…. So don't sue me!

Oh and to make up for the last chapter being so short I have made this one much longer than I first anticipated…. So don't sue me if you have lost a few years from your life while reading it…

-4-

Jareth couldn't see through the labyrinth. Everywhere he looked the scenery was exactly the same. He realized that he could just feel the walls to find his way out, but every time he touched the wall an electric current threw him back. "So I can't feel my way out, I can't see my way out, I guess I will try to hear my way out…" but every time he took more than a few steps he bumped into a wall and was thrown back onto his Royal derriere. Rourick appeared in front of him floating in a mist. "how do you like my little shocking twist" he asked in that oh so smug tone "let's see how many hours you spend trying to just get through this one little area" Jareth fumed and looked for something to throw at the Djinn who was fading away. "There has to be a way to get through this." He said to himself. "Sara had help from her little friends. If only I could find that stupid worm I could just take the little short cut to the castle. But knowing you Labyrinth that would be too easy" Jareth said aloud "so I bet that little short cut has been filled…." Then he thought of her friends….aside from the three regulars who had helped her there was only the Wiseman. The Wiseman hadn't helped her before (well he did, but Sarah didn't understand what it had meant when he said his "to go forward you sometimes have to go back" advice. THE WISEMAN! It struck Jareth that the Wiseman had also given him advice on how to find Sarah. But it didn't make any sense…. he knew that she was in his heart, so how did that help him now….. Jareth sat down on the cold hard stones. He breathed deeply searching inside him for the answer to the Wiseman's riddles. Meanwhile Rourick was sitting in his chambers. Beside him Sarah was propped up on pillows and eating a sandwich. Together they watched as Jareth tried to figure out the first part of the maze. "I didn't get it at first" she said aloud to herself "yes well he won't get it at all just sitting there." Rourick laughed but inside he was a little worried that Jareth had something up his sleeve that he didn't know about. As the game master controlling Jareth's journey through the Labyrinth Rourick had "disabled" the regular obstacles and even removed the regular helpful "hints" such as the maze worm. Although Rourick had control over the obstacles in the Labyrinth, he had his own. Rourick was not allowed to enter the Labyrinth himself. He had to send a hologram of sorts to communicate with Jareth. That was just a "safety" rule that the elder council put in place to keep Rourick from hurting Jareth physically. IF Rourick was to actually enter the labyrinth he would have to run it as well in order to get out. Rourick knew this but Jareth didn't.

Jareth was meditating to help him figure out the Wiseman's advice. He focused on his love for Sarah when he felt the warm glow inside him. He was on the right track. The warm feeling increased as he thought of all the things he loved about her. Her bravery while fighting the "monsters" of the Labyrinth. Her determination to save all that she loved. Her kindness when she played with Toby and her stubbornness at everything in general. But there was also the way she smiled, her quick genuine laugh, and the way she opened herself completely to all those she just met. The warmth was now almost a painful heat. As he thought about those moments they had really shared while she was in the trance of the peach; the heat intensified into an inferno within him. It wasn't until he thought of the baby that they shared that the heat was suddenly gone. Panicking about what it may mean, Jareth opened his eyes and there before him was a glowing ruby red orb. It wasn't a crystal but a swirling floating mass. The orb began to move and Jareth began to follow it. The orb went around a corner and disappeared. Jareth turned right where the orb did to finally see it again. This thing was helping him through the difficult invisible maze. Rourick was furious! How could Jareth use his magick in the Labyrinth to get through it. It had to be Jareth's magick since it came from him. Both he and Sarah had seen the red orb materialize from Jareth's chest. "This is against the rules; he can't use his magick to get through this." Rourick yelled. Sarah only smiled "tell me what you know" Rourick gritted through his clenched teeth as he glared at her "It's not his magick," she replied coolly "it's his love".

Rourick knew he couldn't do anything to stop Jareth from using his love. But if he took away the reason for that love… then he wouldn't be able to use it…. Right? Rourick turned to Sarah. "How were your accommodations last night" he asked. Sarah glared at him "Actually since I wasn't sick at all, it was the best night I have had for a long time." Sarah paused and then thought aloud "Actually I haven't had any pains or sickness. Even after eating just now. I wonder why" Rourick's new plan in place. If he could get Sarah to love him then Jareth would be crushed and lose his love. "Well" he answered "The answer to that is very simple my dear, the child you carry is a Fae Child. And they can't live in the above ground. Something to do with the metals there that cause problems with their magick and can possibly even kill them. But here in the underground where your child belongs it will grow normally. Then sadly when it is sent back to the mortal world above, the child will revert to its human half to survive, but it be very sickly it's whole life." Rourick knew that would get the gears going in her mind.

"That won't be a problem" she said "Jareth and I will raise the child here in the underground." Rourick smiled "Well you see there is a problem with that as Jareth has already given your child away to Karen as her gift for you" Sara felt as if the whole world had turned upside down "At this very moment she is experiencing everything that you are including the baby bump, the morning sickness, the cravings. The child will be real to all who see it on their machines, and later when it begins moving others will be able to feel it kicking." Sarah hoped this wasn't true….it couldn't be. "But he can't give away MY child without my permission" she cried. "Actually your body was rejecting the baby, so it was never a matter to get your consent. As the other parent Jareth was the only one who could give that permission and he did." Rourick loved the natural way the Djinn could twist around their words to suit their needs. "So now that I am healed she is having a wonderful pregnancy and soon a wonderful baby, and I am left with nothing. How could he do this to me" she cried softly. "Well not really." Rourick continued "Karen is still in the mortal world. So even though what she feels is just a mirror image of you, her body will still reject it. She will suffer as you would have if you had stayed in that realm." Rourick didn't mention that Jareth had added that as part of her punishment for Karen's treatment of Sarah. Sarah couldn't believe that Jareth had given her baby away with no thought about her feelings. She could feel her heart breaking at the thought of losing the baby especially to Karen.

"It's time for you to go" Rourick stated as he transported him and Sarah into a set of rooms furnished with rich and gaudy colors. Sarah looked around in total amazement. "You will be treated as a guest" Rourick said sickly sweetly "I have realized I had treated you badly in the beginning to punish Jareth for his past actions against me. But poor Sarah you are as much as a victim in this whole thing as my beloved was. So please accept these rooms as my apology." Rourick lied so easily that he almost believed what he had said. Sarah nodded mutely at the Djinn in front of her. "Please Sarah know that your precious Jareth is nothing as he has appeared to you. I hope that you will realize that you are no longer a pawn in my game of revenge against him, and that I now only seek your friendship." Rourick kept a sincere look on his face while inside he was laughing his ass off. "I will leave this magic mirror for you to use to contact me. It will also show you whatever it is that you want. You only have to wish it." Rourick somehow failed to mention that it would only show her what HE wanted her to see. Rourick bowed grandly to Sarah as he dissipated from the room. Sarah sat on the overstuffed divan, and held the mirror out. "I wish to see my parents." An image appeared where the family was sitting at the table sharing a meal. Toby was covered in some goo, and Robert laughed as he went to clean him off. Then he turned to his wife and gave her a kiss while rubbing her tummy. "Thank you for making our family complete again." He told her. That's when Sarah noticed that the pictures of her that used to be on the walls were now gone. And her chair at the table was also missing. The image faded out, leaving Sarah in tears. First the baby was gone from her, and now so was her family. Her heart broke just a little bit more.

In the labyrinth Jareth's orb flickered. In the split second it had flickered something else had happened to it. The orb was a lighter color red than it had been before. Jareth wondered what it could have happened to make it change but that was a thought for a later time. He had to focus on getting through the labyrinth. He continued to follow the red orb towards another door that must lead to the inner part of the Labyrinth. Rourick's image glittered in front of him causing Jareth to stop right in front of the door. "Jareth I HAVE to let you know that I have added a little twist to this little game of ours." Rourick hated that he had to give the heads up, but it didn't matter he had wanted to see the look on Jareth's face as he told him. "Each time you use your new found ability to guide you through the labyrinth, it will also draw another obstacle of the maze towards you." Rourick left with an evil laugh that had almost obscured the deafening roar that could be heard throughout the Labyrinth. Jareth knew what the new "obstacle" was and it made his blood run cold. This "obstacle" was an ancient one that had been put to sleep many millennia ago due to its destructive behavior to the runners. It was the reason that he had used his magick to keep the runners safe. But with his magick was now unable to be used in the Labyrinth which meant that it was deadly once again. The Minotaur was once again on the loose.

In the Above Ground, Robert had just hung up the phone. The police officer had called to report that so far they had not had any hits on Sarah's whereabouts. He turned to his wife who was laying on the couch. The doctor had given her some medicines to help with the sickness she had been experiencing which was working to some degree. "Well my dear, they are expanding their search to the whole state to hopefully get a tip on where she may be." Karen rolled her eyes; since Sarah had "gone missing" everything seemed to be all about Sarah. Not about her and the new baby as it should have been. Still she tried to sound sincere that she was concerned about Sarah being gone. "Sweet heart I am glad you agreed to let my mother have Toby till Sarah is back. He shouldn't be subjected to all this commotion. He doesn't understand any of it." Karen didn't really care if this incident had bothered Toby at all. She only wanted to get him away till he forgot about Sarah and stopped asking for her. If she had to hear him say Sarah's name one more time while holding out his arms to be picked up she was going to hurt him. Karen closed her eyes to try to get some sleep. For some reason every time she tried to close her eyes for some rest she would dream of Sarah living in a castle as a queen who was dripping in jewels. Other times she would dream that she (Karen) was in a dungeon that reeked of bodily filth, and that she was repeatedly tortured for wishing Sarah away…. These dreams were just a product of over active hormones… they couldn't last much longer….right?


	5. An Extinct Species Steps in to Help

I know it's late coming but life intervened... so I truly apologize and I will try to resume my chapter a day that I had going before.

So I'm Loving the reviews, please GIVE ME MORE!I will be taking the names of those who review and putting them in a big top hat where I will draw one out and use them (with their permission of course) in the final chapter of my story! It's my way of saying thanks for your help, encouragement, and of course your support! If you happen to not be chosen…. Don't sue me!

As usual I do not own the Labyrinth Characters, even the evil Djinn is not mine… he just popped into my head one day, I can't really take credit for him since it's obviously a Djinn mind trick to make me believe he is mine. So I wont give in to him! BACK OFF YOU EVIL GENIE! YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME… (tee hee I always wanted to say that). There I gave my disclaimer so don't sue me please!

If you are stuck in the summer heat (or maybe it's winter where you are so change that to the freezing cold)…. I'm not Mother Nature, so don't sue me it's not my fault.

-5-

Rourick had been watching Sarah in her room. So far she had used the mirror to see her family which seemed better off without her, she had also conjured up Jareth who had appeared to be searching in vain and cursing Sarah's name vehemently. After just a few seconds of hearing his hurtful words she had put the mirror away and had lain down to cry herself to sleep. Rourick then watched with his magick to see what Jareth was up to.

Jareth wandered into a murky swamp. The Swamp surrounded a large lake. Jareth had never seen either of these in the Labyrinth before and the thought that new areas were being made just for him made his heart sink into his stomach. He was as helpless as any other runner before him. Well maybe for the exception of Sarah. Even when times had been rough for her, she set her chin in that determined angle and persevered on.

This swamp seemed easier than it appeared he thought. But that also reminded him of Sarah saying the same thing about the Labyrinth and she beat it. That gave him the hope he needed. There had to be a trick somewhere. He thought to himself. He had tested the waters with a stick. They seemed to be normal, not acid, eternally smelly or deadly in any way. He could even see normal looking fish swimming in it. He did notice that there was no boat or other way to get across the lake so it appeared that he was going to have to go around it through the swamp or swim. The lake spanned as far as he could see into the horizon on both sides. It would take him forever to go around it. Maybe he could just go across it. Jareth began to immerse himself into the water. The glowing red orb was still in front of him began to lead him on through the water where it stopped halfway through the lake. Jareth had realized earlier that it seemed to lead him in the direction AFTER he made up his mind on where he needed to go. In the distance He heard the deadly roar of the Minotaur. The Bull like beast was the original keeper of the Labyrinth and it scared Jareth out of his mind. Jareth had only been there as the keeper of the goblins and the children after they had been lost to the runners. The Minotaur was a merciless creature. Most times the runners didn't survive to get their children back. Jareth wanted to avoid him at all costs. But he needed the orb to help him get back to Sarah faster so the risk of using the orb and luring the beast to him was worth it.

Time in the Labyrinth was not the same in the other realms. Here an hour could be the actual hour; or it could be a day, week or even year in the underground. For the human runners time in the above ground slowed almost to a stand still till they won or lost. But it wasn't the same for the residents of the underground; the underground time went on as usual. It wasn't often that someone from the underground wished away a child. The false sense of lost time in the labyrinth was another subtle trick to keep the runner's senses out of whack making them lose. Jareth had been so lost in his thoughts about how much time he had used and how Sarah had been faring with Rourick that he didn't notice the fish swimming around him were getting bigger. He had swam a good distance into the lake and was almost to the orb that was still hovering in the middle.

Jareth could see the beautiful sandy beach on the other side of the lake. "It would be someplace nice to have a picnic with Sarah" he thought. Suddenly something pulled on his foot. Stopping in the water he floated on the surface to look for the fish that had been big enough to pull him that hard. Even though the water was a crystal clear blue he couldn't see anything aside from the regular fish that were too small to pull him that hard. Again something pulled his foot, this time pulling him completely under the water. He sputtered as he fought to get back to the surface. A bluish green mermaid came to his side pulling him to the precious air. Her coloring had blended her perfectly with the surrounding water making her virtually invisible in the depths. "Thank you for rescuing me" he told her. "Don't thank me yet" she said with a knowing smirk "I'm the one who pulled you under in the first place." With those words she lunged at Jareth again pulling him back under the water and continued into its black murky depths. Panic raced through his mind. He was Fae but their immortality only pertained to old age. He could still be killed. Since he couldn't use his magic, he couldn't form an air bubble. Jareth felt himself growing woozy as he fought to save what precious air he had left in his lungs.

Back in the Castle Rourick watched as Jareth had been pulled under the water to never come back up. For some reason his magic prevented him from seeing into the water so he could only assume that the Goblin King was dead. Too much time had passed for him to have survived without the use of his magick. Rourick puffed into Sarah's room to see her red rimmed eyes. She held the mirror in her hands. The look on her face said it all. She had also seen Jareth go under the water and never surface. Rourick put his arms around the girl and held her while she sobbed her grief into his shoulder. To him and Sarah three weeks had passed to Jareth's three hours, in that amount of time they had begun to form a friendship. Now he was certain he could form more out of it and use that to destroy her.

For some reason he still felt he had a grudge against the goblin King that needed carried out. And Sarah was the relief that he was going to seek it through. He wouldn't be satisfied till her entire world was built up and crushed from beneath her. The Death of the Goblin King was not enough torture for her. She needed to suffer as his precious had suffered. Sarah cried but inside she didn't feel as if Jareth was completely gone from her. At least not yet.

Back in the real world Karen was a pale jittery mess. She had barely slept since Sarah left almost a month ago. The nightmares were getting worse. She was even seeing things while she was awake. Off in a shadowy corner she would swear she seen something move, or she thought that she was being watched when she was all alone. Sometimes she could swear she heard something that no one else seemed to hear. It didn't help that the police had taken up permanent residence at their house to look for Sarah. The Detective in charge of Sarah's case had turned it over to the FBI for further investigation since it appeared she just vanished into thin air. Usually that meant that the person was dead and buried. The FBI had missing posters, and alerts on all the TV stations for her whereabouts. Her face was plastered on all the social networks asking "Have you seen me"? A large reward had been posted for any information that would lead to her whereabouts. Karen's mouth had watered when she heard about the 50 grand reward. She is the sole person who knew what truly happened to Sarah but she couldn't tell anyone to get the reward. Who would believe her when she told them that Sarah really was living happily ever after with the hunky Goblin King in a magic kingdom with fairytale creatures?

All this attention that Sarah was STILL getting was driving Karen even more crazy. A local church (that the family wasn't even associated with) had held a candlelight vigil in Sarah's name in hopes that their prayers would be answered and Sarah would be found soon. Search parties of hundreds of volunteers were combing every inch of the state looking for Sarah's remains. People had been leaving flowers, stuffed animals and cards on the William's front lawn and picket fence. It seemed that the girl who had never had a friend in her life suddenly had made friends with every person in their state!

If one more person stopped Karen to ask for news about Sarah, give their regrets for the suffering of the family or to offer suggestions on where to find her, she was going to flip out! Usually flipping out meant that she would just yell at them, but since all this anger and pain was building up inside her with no outlet she knew that flipping out would mean serious bodily harm to someone. Which wouldn't help her claim that she didn't do anything to Sarah. So when someone approached her she usually just claimed she was tired and hurried away before she would have to listen to pregnancy advice.

This pregnancy was not how she expected it to be. With Toby she was given so much attention by everyone, and of course she hadn't been so sick then. It had been a happy dream feeling him grow inside her with no complications and all the attention she had been showered with. These pregnancy pains she felt didn't bring her down completely. Only because she knew that Sarah was in the same amount of pain AND she had to feel it all knowing that she was going to lose the baby she had created. Whenever Karen thought of all the agony and depression Sarah must be experiencing she felt a little happier.

Of course Sarah was truly enjoying the pregnancy as she should. The good sized bump that had formed was comforting to her. She happily wore the glow of pregnancy. Rourick was even spoiling her like a devoted husband. He was always bringing her favorite foods "which is probably why I am so large" she thought looking at her tummy. She was beginning to not be able to see her feet. He even supplied her with all the pregnancy essentials; prenatal vitamins, cocoa butter for the stretch marks, a soft foam wedge pillow to support the baby bump while she slept and maternity clothes. But Jareth had been her true future up until the moment he went under the water and didn't come back up. Now that it appeared that Jareth was truly gone Sarah worried about her future. What would happen to her now?

Jareth floated in the darkest part of the water. His lungs no longer burned for air. As he opened his eyes he realized that he was on the sandy lake bottom but he was breathing somewhat normally. "I must be dead" he thought sadly. "I will never get to see Sarah or even my child ever again. Jareth tried to move but he was frozen in place. "You are not allowed to move just yet" a familiar voice said. Jareth looked for the person who had spoke but he only seen dark water. Then he was pulled backwards by strong arms towards a large cave. As they entered the cave Jareth was surrounded by hundreds of merpeople. A very beautiful mermaid approached him. Jareth had heard of merpeople but he thought they had been extinct for hundreds of years. The mermaid who had pulled him under was at the side of the beautiful one. "He is the Fae I told you about" she said. "Thank you" the beautiful one said dismissing the girl. "It appears Goblin King you are now a guest of the merpeople" she said. "So I am not dead" he thought. The beautiful one laughed "No you are not dead yet" she began "And yes I can read your thoughts. I had to place you in a state of immobility to preserve your oxygen. We can only produce enough air to sustain you but not keep you indefinitely. So the less your body uses the longer we can keep you." Jareth relaxed.

He had heard the stories of why the mermaids had been hunted to extinction. They were the worst threat to the underground and above world. They were the only changelings with magic in both forms. Since they were so powerful they were never granted immortality. That didn't stop them from stealing it. In order for the merpeople to become immortal they needed to kill an immortal and a human mortal while absorbing their living essence. That essence combined with the mer magick was a proverbial fountain of youth for their species. The realms of the underground were dwindling from the merpeople murders so they gathered together to form a giant army to massacare all the merpeople. The beautiful one grimaced at the thoughts going through Jareth's head. "Yes at one time we did kill all those we encountered to become immortal, which has led us into hiding. You somehow found our cloaked lake so we had no choice but to take you." She said. "No one can see us while we are in the lake even if we are on the surface." She began again "But you have the Minotaur after you and he is entering the waters as we speak in pursuit. We fear the Minotaur more than being found as used to eat our people as a delicacy. So we don't have much time. We will spare your life and lead you out of the waters if you grant us amnesty in your realm once more."

Jareth's eyes opened in fright. Letting mermaids back into the underground would only resume the killings and he would never put Sarah in that harms way willingly. "No Goblin King, you misunderstand." She said with a shake of her head. "We have been forced to control our population to keep from being detected. We have a new view of how precious life truly is, and even though we will grow old and die we promise not to steal the living essence of any living being in the underground or the above ground. We want to truly live life again." Jareth thought about this. "If it helps:" she continued "If a merperson would ever take the living essence of a living being then you can use your magick to transported us all back to this lake to be forever imprisoned." Jareth knew that this was a great bargain. The merqueen could easily suck out his life essence and become an immortal leading her people back into the underground to resume their killings. But with this agreement in place they were showing the that they truly wanted to live a real life in peace.

Jareth nodded his head which was barely noticeable but the Queen's smile showed she had seen it and she kissed Jareth to seal the agreement. Even though he couldn't use his magick it was still there and the agreement was settled. We will take you to the other side of the lake" she said "But know this the merpeople have a special sight that allows them to see things no other can. We see the djinn you are battling is out for revenge and he is currently taking it out on your own love. Rourick is stealing away your Sarah as his own" Jareth was shocked and upset by this news. Sarah would never betray their love….. Would she?

Rourick was furious. Jareth was dead so why was the infernal clock still ticking. The rules said that if the runner died in the Labyrinth that the clock would stop and the child that was wished away would be turned into a goblin instantly. He conjured his mist which soon formed the image of the High King. "Yes" The high King demanded. He was obviously not happy to be disturbed. "The clock still ticks but Jareth is dead" said Rourick. The high king frowned. Nothing like this had ever happened before. He looked somewhere to his left and then looked back into the mist. "I have consulted my oracle which can not see the Goblin King so it is unsure if he is truly dead. For some reason we don't know about, he is hidden from all forms of magick. The only way to prove his death is for his body to be retrieved and since you are the Labyrinth Master you are the only one who can enter the Labyrinth while there is a runner in it." Rourick was turning a shade of purple from the anger welling up inside him. If he went into the Labyrinth he would be stuck there until he finished it. But if Jareth was truly dead then he would be able to magick them both out. He would win either way so there was no question of not going in. "Yes High King I will go in the Labyrinth".

Now he only had to make arrangements for Sarah…..


	6. A New Runner

If I had ever owned Labyrinth or its characters I wouldn't be writing fan fic.. Instead I would be making new movies and TV series and living off those mega bucks. But I don't so I am stuck making zilch and writing for your amusement….. So don't sue me!

More reasons not to sue me: your water was shut off, your car hit a pothole and burst its tire, you dropped your ice cream cone on the ground, your granny decided to try the new thing called texting and is now sending you the weirdest messages every five minutes. Or the worst of all your granny has just started a twitter account and is updating every five minutes "just ate prunes, now I have to do a #2", "for some reason I have a strange smelling discharge coming from my ear", "help I've fallen and I can't get up. Lol"….yup all that's not my fault so don't sue me!

-6-

Jareth's red orb that had followed him to the bottom of the lake was no longer red. It was a pale pink. Something drastic must have happened for it to change so much. Thinking about his love that supplied the orb it must be the love that it was connected to. Something was not right with Sarah. The thought that she was suffering in some way made his heart pound. He had to get to her!

Truly Sarah was suffering. Everything and everyone that had ever meant anything to her was suddenly all gone. She felt so alone. Her new friend Rourick was even absent lately. He seemed to be getting ready for a journey. He had set up extra defenses around Sarah telling her it was only for her own safety. Sarah hardly noticed or cared. She was depressed and didn't feel like life was worth living anymore. She only kept up her appetite and her determination to live only for the innocent babe she carried. Sarah would make sure nothing happened to that babe.

"Sarah dear I have to leave" Rourick said from behind her. Sarah hadn't heard him come in but she also didn't move to register that she had heard him speak. "Sarah" Rourick said more forcibly as he turned her around to face him. He could see she had been crying probably since Jareth had first gone under the water over an hour ago. Something inside him felt both satisfied and upset at her misery. Even though he had wanted her to suffer as his beloved had suffered, He still had formed a little friendship with the girl. It was hard not to like her. She had a fire inside of her that was very infectious. It reminded him of his true love Dawnlei. He also remembered the devastation he had felt when he heard of her demise. He spent centuries in a deep depression and a few more plotting revenge against Jareth. Now that everything was working in his favor he almost regretted that Sarah was stuck in the middle of it all.

"Sarah, I am leaving in a few moments. I may be back right away or it may take me longer. But I wanted to let you know that you must stay in your rooms. A maid will bring you whatever foods you desire all you have to do is ring for it." Sarah was so overwhelmed. Rourick was the only person she had left that she had a connection to and now he was leaving her. Wait she still had her three underground friends. "Can I have my friends visit?" She asked feeling the happiness spread through her like a warm evening fire. "Sarah I am afraid to tell you that when you first arrived, I asked your so called friends to come and make your stay more enjoyable. But the little fox refused to leave his post at the bog, the large stupid one didn't even remember who you were and the dwarf was very rude saying that he wasn't going to get stuck babysitting you again." Rourick lied to her. "Ok" she replied in a whisper the warmth she felt turned to ice. Three more slashes against her heart. She wasn't sure she could take anymore.

Robert was searching through his wife's things looking for any sign of Sarah's whereabouts. He had a nagging feeling she had something to do with his daughter's disappearance but there was no proof. He had asked her many times about that day Sarah "left", but it was always the same exact story. It didn't make sense though. Sarah never even had a boyfriend so how was it that she was seeing a man behind their backs long enough to conceive a baby and decide to move away with him. If that was the case then why couldn't they find her? Nobody had turned in any creditable information as to where she could be living with this man. Frankly Robert was getting sick of his wife. All she has done since Sarah disappeared was whine and complain about her pregnancy. She also seemed to be losing her mind. For a long time Robert had been drifting away from his wife. He knew that this pregnancy was her last resort to keep him. She had pulled him away from his family to go out and "make new connections" to further their rank in polite society. They went out so often that he was going broke. Now that she was pregnant and it was a difficult pregnancy he was sure that he had fallen out of love with the woman. He felt bad that she was suffering, but it got him off the hook from having to go out with her every evening to places he hated and people he couldn't stand. Lately she had been saying mean things about Sarah. That's when the suspicions started that she had done something bad to his daughter. Karen even talked in her sleep (which was something that she never used to do) and she would talk about another man whom she dreamed very lewd fantasies about. This man was named Jarrod or something like that, and she said plenty of times in her sleep that she was so happy to be having his baby. Robert was keeping away that little tid bit until the baby was born and a paternity test could be done. If the child wasn't his, then he would be more than happy to divorce Karen.

Still he searched for some clue about his daughter. Which he did not find.

"Jareth" the Mermaid Queen said while gently shaking him. "Your body can't hold this slowed state any longer. I have to release you to the surface or you will drown." Jareth heard the words but it was hard to register them in his foggy brain. He had been under the water for too long and was beginning to succumb to the bliss of death. "The wards I have set up around the cave will protect us from the Minotaur but outside of the cave anyone is easy prey for him. I'm afraid I am the only one who can release your immobility spell so you will be pulled by our fastest swimmers to the surface where you can swim to the beach." The Merqueen then kissed Jareth one more time thus releasing the spell. Jareth's body jerked at the sudden rush of blood pumping through his veins again. The two mermen grabbed Jareth's arms and propelled him through the mouth of the cave. Before they were more than a few feet from the mouth of the cave they were ambushed by a large mass. Jareth's lungs screamed for air but he was pushed around the water till he wasn't sure which was up. The mermen that had been pulling him through the water were being ripped apart by the huge black beast. The Minotaur was completely distracted from Jareth while he eagerly devoured his delicious meal. Jareth began to kick his way to what he hoped was the surface but knew he wasn't going to make it. Already he was fighting to keep his eyes open against the sweet lull of a death sleep.

Rourick kissed an unresponsive Sarah full on the mouth before he left her rooms He wasn't sure why but he felt a loss at leaving her. Turning to the guards outside her door he gave them their last orders till his return. "If anyone tries to see the lady you will immediately throw them into an oubliette, no exceptions! If anything should happen to me in the Labyrinth or if I am not the Victor runner then you are to kill Sarah immediately before the champion gets to her." Rourick was sure that he would be the winner no matter what. But he wanted to be ready for any outcome. No matter what he felt towards her Sarah wouldn't live much longer. Her fate was sealed just as his beloved Dawnlei's was.

Rourick blew a glittering swirling mist in front of him conjuring the image of Jareth as he did. The transportation spell would put Rourick exactly where Jareth was in the Labyrinth. He would only have to grab his dead body and the Labyrinth would send them both back with him as the Champion. Rourick smiled at that thought. He would not only gain Jareth's girl but he would also take the empty throne of the Goblin King. He stepped into the mist only to be surrounded by murky water.

Rourick looked around and spotted the glowing orb next to the body of Jareth floating just under the surface of the water. "So this is where you died" He thought as he waited to see if there was any movement showing life in the immobile Goblin King. Rourick smiled. It seemed the Goblin King was truly dead. He kicked powerful arms and legs to the body and began to hauled him to the shore. Too bad his magic was also "turned" off now that he was considered a runner or he would just poof them to the beach. The dead weight slowed him down, but with victory only a few strokes away he didn't mind. Under the water the Minotaur was finishing off the last of the mermen, and had taken notice of the new body that seemed to be unaware of his presence. He began to swim at the two figures moving slowly through the water.


	7. A Twist in the Tale for All

My oh My It's been a very long time since I wrote anything about our characters. It just got a little overwhelming and of course life intervened and said. "Nope you are not going to finish that right now, you have other things to do first"…. So with that being said…. I will apologize for the delay. I'm Sorry! (Don't sue me)

As you may have seen often, I don't own the characters in this story. (Even Rourick cause I am very sure now that he IS using his evil Djinn magick on me…. I have been seeing some very detailed visions of what he looks like in my dreams, and honestly it's a bit unnerving. HE'S HOT!) I will do my best not to paint the vivid pictures Rourick is sending me, instead I will continue this story (of which the characters or the story line it came from is not mine) as I see it in my mind….. Disclaimer done…..so don't sue me.

If for some reason my granny texts you, don't sue me. I know we all hate to hear about her gout foot, and the awful tint of blue her hair has become. But I have put up with it, and so will you, just because she is my granny, don't sue me. Sue her! Lol. No really. I mean it.

And now your feature presentation

-7-

Rourick felt the unease in the air. Something didn't feel right. It's the same nagging feeling you get when you know you are completely alone and yet you just know someone is watching you… This was the exact feeling he felt now. If he hadn't been pulling the dead weight of Jareth's body he would have sworn it was him coming back to life and torture him even more with his existence. The shore was still a good few miles away and he was taking his time swimming back. It's not easy to swim with two arms when one of them was full of a dead body. Rourick was a genie and didn't have the use of legs. The mist that kept him propelled on the ground, was obsolete here in the water, and was now replaced with legs that he knew nothing about. The legs floated in the water as dead to him as the body he pulled. Rourick thought of Sarah and how she was faring. The girl had lost the will to live when she seen Jareth drown in the water. The images he had fed her through her magick mirror had deteriorated her will power even further. He had originally hoped that she would kill herself. But Sarah was a fighter, no matter what the circumstances she found herself in. He knew that she would eventually die of a broken heart. Especially the moment her baby was born, and disappeared from her arms forever.

Rourick felt bad for Sarah. She was after all just stuck in the middle of all the crazy mess around her. But so had his beloved. Dawnlei was a sweet and gentle Fae, who never asked to be thrown into the middle of a war. She only wanted to be left alone to love the man she knew as her soul mate. Now her Soul Mate was nearing the end of his revenge against the man who destroyed that true love all those many years ago. A sharp jerk pulled him under the water and at the same time snapped his mind back into the soggy cold reality. Something had grabbed onto his leg. He looked at the foreign limb and seen a small hand firmly attached to it. Using his legs for the first time he tried to kick the hand off of him. The motion did cause the hand to loosen its grip some but it stayed in place. The motion also propelled him a tad further in the water than he had been. Apparently you needed to kick with your legs to swim faster through the water. The hand prevented him from continuing to swim as it pulled him back into the water. Pulling both him and Jareth's body into the murky depths with fast long strides. Long flowing purple hair floated in Rourick's face obscuring his vision of the water. He pushed and kicked to regain the surface of the water, but the hand was pulling him where it wanted him to go.

Another hand, larger in girth and stronger in muscle grabbed the Djinn's free arm. With the hair obscuring his vision completely Rourick panicked at the newcomer and what it wanted with him. The two beings fought over Rourick pulling him as hard as each could. He felt his limbs as they were pulled out of their sockets, and stretched to the point of ripping off. Jareth had been unaffected so far. These two beings were fighting over him! A large bright light pierced the water causing it to hum with electricity, and increase slightly in temperature. It was gone as suddenly as it had come. The light has caused the larger hand let go momentarily of Rourick. He felt it frantically grasped towards his legs trying to gain a hold of him once more. Rourick moved his legs just out of reach as the being came into his sight. For one second only, Rourick stared into the eyes of the Minotaur, before it turned and kicked to the surface and away from Rourick, Jareth and the other creature. Rourick began to lose consciousness as the air left his lungs. He had lost his grip on Jareth's body long ago and didn't really care if he ever found it again. He would just finish the labyrinth to get out if he had to if he could only get some air first.

The other creature pulled Rourick and Jareth up out of the water and onto a small island that mysteriously appeared in the lake. "I have gathered all the magickal wards to bring us this piece of land to secure your safety" She said. Rourick was speechless he was staring at the most beautiful mermaid. This creature he thought to be extinct was here rescuing him for some unknown reason. "Thank You" he gasped between gulps of air. "I didn't do it for you!" She replied angrily. She went over to the prone body of Jareth. "No" cried Rourick hoping to force her to away from the body. Glaring at him the mermaid stayed calm. "If you want I can send you back into the waters where the Minotaur is being distracted by my fellow merpeople." She glared at him waiting for a response. "Jareth is dead, just leave him be" Rourick said trying to make sense to the mermaid. On land her magnificent body glistened in the sun showing her toned arms and long sculpted legs. She was a distraction herself, and knew it. "Come here" she purred to the Djinn. Mesmerized by her silky voice and her glittering body he leaned towards her. *SMACK* was the last thing he expected. The mermaid had pulled her hand as far back as she could and slapped him with the hard back part of her hand across the full front of his face! Rourick reeled from the hit, and fell face down into the sand. "Now if you are done bitching" She yelled into his face "You would see that Jareth is still partially alive. He may have stopped breathing but his life essence is still in his body. As a mermaid I can sense this." Rourick felt his stomach lurch at the thought of Jareth being alive even if it was just barely. The primitive roar that erupted from him sounded as if it came from the Minotaur. "Bring him back to life and I will kill you" he threatened. The mermaid became sullen and looked towards the water "I'm afraid I am already dead." She said "The other merfolk are defenseless right now from the minotaur who is famished from centuries of being forced to sleep. He is eating each and every one of my family as we speak and I will be next as soon as I go back into the water". Rourick suddenly felt bad for the girl. "I can hear their screams right now" she said in a whisper which quickly turned to a feral shrieking. "I have every available magick to the merpeople protecting this island so I will be damned if I let their deaths go to waste in vain." She was determined to bring Jareth back to life for whatever reason Rourick could fathom. She placed her hand on Jareth's chest and Rourick watched as it began to rise and fall. Water spurted out of the Goblin Kings mouth, as he fought to breathe. "The life essence only needs a little jump start to push it back into the soul." She said weakly "This is what keeps a being alive no matter what species they be" she said to no in particular. She looked at Rourick "I see your life essence is not attached to your soul completely. This only means that your other half of your soul; your soul mate has perished taking that part of your life essence with them" she was genuinely saddened for him. To lose your soul mate is like losing a part of yourself. Except for beings in the underworld it truly is the case. The mermaid walked up to Rourick distracting him further from the weak Goblin King. "I will give you one last gift, before I die." She said. And with that she kissed Rourick full on the lips. "The part of you that was lost can be found again" she said. I have given you my life essence to attach to your soul so that you may be whole again to love and find a soul mate". The life in her emerald eyes began to fade, and they turned black as her lifeless body fell backwards into the water which churned and frothed as it consumed her body leaving only a red glare on the surface of the water. The Minotaur ate the dead body greedily as it regained its true strength from its long forced hibernation.

Rourick glared at Jareth who sat on the sand absorbing the scene in front of him. Even though he didn't fully know what was going on around him, he knew that the Minotaur was the least of his worries at the present moment. Rourick felt stirrings inside him that he had not felt since his love had been lost to him all those years ago. The turmoil inside his soul was nothing he felt compared to the hate that still rested in his heart towards Jareth. "You killed her" he said. Jareth's heart leaped in his chest. His mind raced to the conclusion that Sarah was dead. "I loved her, I would never kill her" he cried. Rourick was furious "you never loved her; you only squashed her like the little bug she was to you." Rourick cried out. "She was my whole world and yet she was just a block in your political path!" Jareth was stunned. He truly had no idea what Rourick was talking about. What did his politics have to do with Sarah? "She was the Princess you had to dispose of in order to get your throne. She was nothing more to you, but she was my whole world" cried Rourick. Jareth was so relieved to hear Sarah was possibly still alive that he didn't register the words fully, nor notice Rourick lunge at him. Rourick's hands went around Jareth's neck. A bolt of lightning struck them sending them apart. It didn't harm them, but only separated them. "Blasted labyrinth: I still can't kill you" Rourick said angrily. "But I WILL beat you at your own game"

Jareth looked around the island and seen that it was moving towards the shoreline. The mermaids who still survived were pushing them to safety. The merqueen appread before them as she hovered above the water in a hologram. "Jareth, go forth, and win this labyrinth. There is much at stake and it's all riding on your shoulders. Just know that we can't be there to help you any further." "Thank you I can't repay your kindness" he said weakly. "You will once you win and we are allowed back with the other creatures of the underground" she said with a knowing smile as she evaporated into the water spray from the waves. Rourick's head snapped back to the goblin King. Had he heard that right? Jareth had made an agreement to let the Merpeople back into the undergrounds masses just to be saved? The Djinn were once an endangered species all because of the Merpeople. He wasn't going to allow that to happen again. He really did have so much riding on his winning this labyrinth! Jareth's thoughts were following the same wave length as Rourick's. He had so much riding on his shoulders to win this Labyrinth. The Merpeople, his royal position, his Fae status, the life of his child, and his love for Sarah.

All they could do was stare at each other with hate until they reached the shoreline. There they would go their separate ways as each one battled the Labyrinth's obstacles, Battled the Minotaur, and Battled each other to be the one who was crowned the Labyrinth's Champion.

In a dark alley a man's patience was wearing thin. He was only here for the money, he could care less about the girl and what had happened to her, hell he was so high that day that it had taken him a few weeks to actually determine what had happened had really actually happened and that it wasn't just one of his drug induced "trips". He knew the reward would grow and he was right, they had just posted it up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars for any information leading to the whereabouts of Sarah and her unborn child. The police officer who had started the case had been reassigned once the FBI stepped in, but he couldn't get over the nagging feeling that the step mother had something to do with the girl's disappearance. She had been looked into one multiple occasions but nothing ever came out of it. He did his own investigation to find Sarah when he had the time. For some reason this girl's disappearance really got to him, and he had to see it through to the end no matter what it may be. This informant had called him on his work line, so he hoped that no one else had heard the information the man had given him as a teaser to get him to make the arrangements for the meeting. He had watched the man in the alley for an hour now, and he seemed genuinely aggravated, which was a good sign; whatever he had to say was important enough that he waited for the officer even though it was apparent that he was in desperate need for a fix. Stepping out of the shadows he went to hear what the tweaker had to say. "Dude. I have been waiting for like FOREVER!" the druggie said. "I had to follow up on other tips. Lots of people want that reward money and so far everything is coming out bumpkus for the truth" Officer Sims said. "Well I seen it actually happen but you won't believe me." The user said. "I was in the alley beside the house sleeping off one of my benders when I heard yelling. I looked in the window expecting the lady of the house to come out and threaten me with you guys, but I seen her kicking and screaming a young girl on the floor." Sims wrote everything down as fast as he could, So far what he was hearing, he believed. He had such a bad feeling about that woman, and now it seemed he was correct. "That's when things got all wonky" continued the man "She was saying something about wanting the girl to be gone, and then all of a sudden the room like filled up with smoke and glitter and the girl was gone, but like a man was there, like magic". Sims raised his eyebrows at the dirty man, now things were getting a little weird "So that was the last time you seen the girl?" the man nodded his head "Tell me about the man" Sims asked. "He was tall with long white blond hair that was all spiky and stuff, he had makeup on but not like a drag queen, and he was wearing a leather vest and pants. He had on a puffy pirate shirt like the one Jerry wore, and a cape that like was so long it touched the floor." Sims just stared at the tweaker. The magician routine was a first in the many attempts these con artists had come up with to get that money, but it wasn't going to work on him." The tweaker took the officers silence as a cue to continue "Well he talked all Britishey and he told the lady that he would grant her whatever she wanted in exchange for the girl." This sounded believable to Sims and he just took the first part of the users drug story as a drug induced dream embellishment. The jittery man continued. It was obvious he was getting into his story telling. "I was totally floored when she said she wanted the girl gone but she wanted the baby instead!" Sims was seeing red. This sounded like a regular case of abduction till delivery. Usually in these cases the mother was killed so she couldn't go after her baby. The only Strange thing to Sims was why Karen would want two babies. It was obvious that the step mother was not faking a pregnancy, so she must have made the deal before she found out she was expecting herself. Unless her child does not come out alive because of the complications she can pass off the other baby as her own. "Thank you" Said Sims, "The reward money will be cleared for distribution once this information has been looked into and is found creditable." The tweakers eyes lit up and his mouth started salivating visibly. He sobered up for a second and looked at the officer grimly "One other thing dude, The man disappeared the same way he came. I would be carefully messing with a man who can turn himself into a cloud of glitter." With those last words the tweaker turned and left, excited to finally get his fix. Sims just stared at the retreating man. Sims felt back for that man he obviously believed that the abductor was magical. Aside from the pity he felt for the delusional man, Sims had a new strong lead on Sarah, and it all lead back to Karen which made him burn with fury.

Karen was in the kitchen having tea to calm her nerves down. She could have sworn that the bed comforter had things crawling around under it, but when she threw back the covers the only thing that was there were her legs. Lately she had been seeing things move on their own, or completely disappear right after she set something down. She was coming apart at the seams. Toby was there the other night for a visit and she could have sworn that she seen things in the bubbles he blew from his bubble bath. A slight knock at the door made her jump as if it had been a siren. "What" she said angrily to the intruder on her porch as she swung the door open. "Sorry Mam, I am detective Sims, and I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time". Sims said as he pushed his foot into the doorway obscuring any chance she had of shutting the door. "At three in the morning?" she ground out trying to slam the door in his face. "Karen don't be rude to the nice man. He has only been trying to help us with Sarah's disappearance". Robert said behind Karen causing her to yelp in alarm and move away from the door. Sims smiled at the family patriarch, and stepped into the house. "I have had a new lead and even though it seems a little farfetched I thought I should come immediately, and when I seen the lights on I knew I had to find out now." Began Sims "The man who I met with tonight said he seen what had happened to Sarah," and with those words Karen fainted.

Sarah was miserable. Since Rourick left, time had elapsed in the underground much quicker. It had been two months since she seen Rourick and she feared she would never see him again. Each time she looked into the magick mirror she only seen lots of water. She feared that her only friend Rourick had drowned just as her beloved Jareth did. She was completely along now. She cried constantly, and had lost the determination to live. If it wasn't for the slight movements she felt in her growing abdomen, she would have jumped out of the tallest tower weeks ago. The mirror still showed a happy loving family at home, content without her. Her so called friends from the underground were still content with their lives, never wondering about what she was doing. She had no one to talk to, nothing to do but read the same books over and over, sleep and eat. She should be with Jareth fixing up the baby's room, and picking out baby names. Not sitting in the same spot each day in and out staring into space. She didn't even think about much anymore. If she thought about the baby she would then think about Karen getting to do all the things that she should rightfully be doing. She had went through all the emotions; anger, betrayal, sorrow, hope, and finally hopelessness. She was just so mad about this whole situation that was completely out of her control. Due to the magick surrounding her as the "wished away victim" she couldn't leave the castle. She couldn't make contact with anyone, unless they contacted her first. So all she could do was wait. But Being who she was, that was not an option . "I'm not going to wait forever, it's driving me crazy" she said. And got up from her perch by the window. I am going to do something about all this. I wasn't consulted about any of it and I have rights too!" She stomped to the door, and pulled the bell chain by it. This was to summon her personal maid who usually only brought her food. "Yes Mistress" was the gruff reply of the Djinn woman as she apparated into the room. "I want to speak to someone in charge. I know Rourick is off in the Labyrinth, But there has to be someone else I can talk to about what is going on here"! The Djinn woman eyed Sarah suspiciously; she didn't really have time to deal with the orders from a prisoner. Not when that prisoner had all types of creatures trying to break into the castle to "rescue her" and she along with the other servants were too busy fighting off their attacks. For the last three days the castle was pelted with boulders. Of course the prisoner wouldn't know this, as her quarters were magicked into silence both on the inside and the outside. She wouldn't even be able to see the boulders if she looked outside. "Whatever mistress wants mistress will get" the Djinn woman ground out. "I will contact one of the high council to come meet with you" but she didn't say that the council members hated meetings and usually blew them off. The prisoner would never get her meeting. This thought made the Djinn laugh and she did so quite loudly as she apparated from the room leaving a very confused Sarah behind.

"We shall come get you My Lady" called Sir Didymus up to colossal mountain that was the Djinn castle. "Ludo miss Sawah" wailed Ludo, while Hoggle wiped a tear away before it could be seen by the others. "So do I" he thought. "Very very much".


End file.
